JVC MS130

Mini camcorders are everywhere, and with so many manufacturers offering you their latest goodies it can be hard to know what to choose. The JVC Everio MS130 is another entry level camera and comes from the same fold as their MS120, with just a little more sophistication which adds about $50 to the price. Still, for just over $300 you can get yourself a mini camcorder, so is this money well spent or are there better options out there? You know how it works. We review, you have a coffee and cookies, and decide what you think.

JVC Everio GZ-MS130 Camcorder

Design

There isn’t really anything to differentiate the JVC Everio MS130 and the sister model MS120 in terms of looks. They have the same shell, which is either black and silver or red and silver. There are rumors that you can also get blue and silver but this clearly isn’t as popular as we haven’t found many on sale. It is solid feeling considering it is all plastic. Our gripe is with the hand strap which is very weak and we fear would break with little effort, so just make sure you have a good hold of your camcorder. The screen size is good, and the controls are all within ergonomic reach for good one-handed operation. Again, this is all good. Oh, and a remote control is included in the box.

Actual user review:
“I’m a camcorder newbie and bought the JVC MS130BU basically on an impulse at Walmart. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but I took the plunge because I needed a video camera fast. I’ve now had the camcorder less than a week and am very satisfied with what I purchased. Could you get a better camera, I’m sure that you could, but for a standard definition digital camera, I am very happy with the image quality. The image playback direct from the camera into a 42″ Samsung LCD 720p TV is sweet. High definition images aren’t needed here. Why spend extra money if you don’t need to? Overall, I can’t complain about the performance of this sleek, lightweight and compact camcorder. If you’re looking for a value-priced, good quality video camera, this one fits the bill the just fine.” – J.Renaud (MO,USA)

Functionality

Let’s start with a gripe. The JVC Everio MS130 does not have optical image stabilization built in, which is a little bit sad as this is a very handy feature if like us you get the lack of coffee wobbly hand or you want to let the kids or grandma have a go at shooting the film. Other than that we are actually very impressed. One of the key factors that push up the price is internal memory, so JVC really have tried to compromise here. You get 16GB of internal storage which means that unlike the MS120 which has none you can get straight to work with this one, and you also get a dual SD card slot giving you room for 2 cards each a maximum of 32GB of storage which isn’t bad really but does mean you have to purchase the cards.

In terms of image quality we were impressed with the playback. The light quality was good and there weren’t many issues in terms of color detection or image clarity. Again, this is a 35x optical zoom which is brilliant and video resolution is 720×480 whist you can take still pictures at 640×480 resolution, and you can do this and record movies at the same time which again is brilliant.

Conclusion

For the money, the JVC Everio MS130 is the more superior camera when compared to the MS120 – and to be honest for $50 you may as well step up and go for this one. Had we reviewed it without knowing the price tag we may well have guessed at another $50 higher as it really is good, and we don’t think you will be disappointed if you are in the market for a standard definition, flash memory, low end camcorder.

Average User Rating:

• “I’ve just begun testing this camcorder, and it seems to work very well. Be aware of two limitations: (1) maximum file size is 4 GB, so the manual says it will create a new file at that point if you are continuously recording. (2) the MOD file format is indeed MPG, and can be copied from the camcorder and renamed as .mpg and edited. However, even when acquired in 16:9, the file has internal tags that tell all Windows software that it is 4:3, so it appears “squeezed” on screen. The solution is to shoot in 4:3 only, or to use DVDPATCHER to change all tags to 16:9. Ultrafine has 9100k and Fine has 8400k data rate. The software provided for conversion only converts to WMF at low data rates, so is not useful. Oh, and JVC was completely unhelpful in this regard. They referred me to Pixela technical support, even though the software was not the problem. I do not have an assessment of battery life yet. Menus I would assess to be a bit cumbersome, with scrolling and selection buttons far apart from each other. Overall, though, a good camera — very narrow in body and light in weight.” – P.L.Penar (USA)

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